Castro Inaugurates Finlay Vaccine Plant
FL1012005093 Havana Cuba Vision Network in Spanish 0235 GMT
7 Dec 93
FL1012005093
Havana Cuba Vision Network
Spanish
BFN
[Speech by President Fidel Castro inaugurating the Carlos
Finlay Institute vaccine plant during a ceremony held at the
Convention Center in Havana on 3 December -- recorded]
[Text] Distinguished prominent guests visiting us from the
spheres of the world pharmaceutical industry and science,
guests, and ladies and gentlemen, comrades: The same thing
always happens to me! Perhaps I insist because I am a
persevering person. I mean, I insist on not speaking.
I don't know what for! How many times have I asked Maria de
los Angeles to make the closing speech? How many times have I
argued with the organizers of the ceremonies? But now I realize
the only alternative left to me is to either attend or not
attend!
And really, what can I say here, where such estimable,
capable comrades have spoken? What can I say about Finlay that
his biographer, Dr. Lopez Sanchez, has not said? We have the
privilege of being able to count on a man such as he, who has
gone so deeply into Finlay's life, who knows Finlay's work and
his life in such great detail!
He talked about what Finlay's discovery has meant to
mankind.
One could say that sooner or later somebody would have
discovered it. That happens in everything. But who could
calculate the number of lives he saved by coming up with that
theory when he did, and by making its application possible when
the circumstances under which it was possible to do so arose?
How many more years might mankind not have taken to discover
this vector?
And not just against yellow fever! The same theory served to
find the vectors for other diseases, such as malaria. We should
not forget that! I could ask you, Lopez Sanchez, if people
already knew back then that the mosquito -- another mosquito --
was the vector for malaria? [response unintelligble] [Castro
enters into dialog with Lopez]
It was after Finlay. In what year?
[Lopez] [Words indistinct] already back in 1902.
[Castro] 1902.
[Lopez] (?So), 20 years.
[Castro] Had the influence of the Aedes Aegypti [mosquito]
already been discovered?
[Lopez] [Words indistinct] in 1903. [Words indistinct] he
had
solved the problem of transmission via vector.
[Castro] You see? So, he had solved the problem in theory in
1881?
[Lopez] In theory.
[Castro] Those tests you said they carried out: When did
they
effect them? In what year?
[Lopez] Well, he says [words indistinct].
[Castro, interrupting] But I mean the first ones, after he
applied the [word indistinct].
[Lopez] (?Around) 1881.
[Castro] In 1881, the first test of transmission?
[Lopez] [Passage indistinct]
[Castro] And did not the brave man who allowed himself to be
stung by the mosquito get a prize? [laughter]
[Lopez] Well, I don't think that....
[Castro, interrupting] You said here that he survived. All
that was very interesting to us all.
[Lopez] [Passage indistinct]
[Castro] But I must say that, among our scientists, I have
known many people who gave themselves a vaccine, so as to test
it on themselves. Let us say that the Finlay group that worked
on the anti-meningitis vaccine used it on themselves. They later
tested it on relatives and all that. This was after having
reached quite a high level of certainty, of course.
I mean, you can see that anyone back then who lent himself
for testing a theory regarding such a dangerous disease, and one
for which there was no treatment, has great merit. And as you
spoke, I was thinking that, from the moment the theory came into
existence, the simple use of a mosquito net on people ill with
the disease became an important preventive element. I also was
remembering other diseases: dengue fever, for example. One must
note that the influence of that theory touches even dengue
fever. It was later learned that dengue too was transmitted by
the same variety of mosquito. And we, here, had the hemorraghic
dengue epidemic, and, well, [words indisinct]. We found
ourselves deeply involved in a very serious struggle. And
Finlay's theory and thought were present in this struggle.
The battle was against the mosquito, in other words,
against the carrier. For this, we used effective therapeutic
methods. It was very important to know what needed to be done.
We had over 300,000 cases of hemorraghic dengue. The treatment
given reduced mortality to about 150 cases. That is a high
figure, but I am convinced that under any other circumstance or
in many countries of the world an epidemic like this one would
have taken thousands of lives. In other words, we can say that
the therapeutic method and the treatment given to the sick
reduced mortality to a minimum.
The struggle against the carrier was the key to eradicating
the sickness. In the final phase of the treatment the patients
were hospitalized to avoid contact with the mosquito. If you
know the carrier the struggle becomes more practical and
feasible. We continued like that until no more cases of
hemorrhagic dengue were reported. Since then our struggle has
been to keep the carrier at the lowest level possible.
It is very sad to know that Finlay's merits have been
questioned. It is not chauvinism on our part, but the authorship
of his discovery and his theories have been completely
established. I recently read that for many years he had been
considered for the Nobel Prize, but due to the opposition of
certain interests he was never given that Nobel Prize.
Therefore, even in this Finlay was unjustly treated. To this
day....[pauses] Just recently, a book was written in Europe
challenging Finlay's merits. This was just recently, that is why
we must continue struggling.
We believe this with a very deep conviction. We recognize
his
merits just as many do throughout the world, including Latin
America. That is why we have summoned you here and have used the
date of his birth to commemorate Latin American Medicine Day. I
do not know if all Latin American countries celebrate this date,
but I do know that there are some that celebrate Medicine Day on
this date. [Castro questions Dr. Lopez Sanchez] Is this date
universal? No?
[Lopez] There are doctors that take advantage of the date to
celebrate Latin American Medicine Day, but it is not celebrated
in all places.
[Castro] It is not celebrated in all places. Is it
celebrated
in some countries?
[Lopez] In Latin America.
[Castro] In some Latin American countries. What do they
celebrate, the day of Latin American Medicine Day or Medicine
Day?
[Lopez] They celebrate Medicine Day or Doctors Day.
[Castro] Doctors Day. Was this after Finlay's birth date or
is this just a coincidence.
[Lopez] It was after his birth.
[Castro] Finlay is highly recognized in Latin America. Has
your book been published over there or have we lacked the means?
You should have gotten together with a publicity transnational
to bring your book...
[Lopez, interrupting] The book is in the hands of all
doctors
here in Cuba.
[Castro] Yes, but it is not in the hands of the rest of the
doctors.
[Lopez] That does not depend on me.
[Castro] What did it depend on: the publisher, paper?
[Lopez] The publisher.
[Castro] Maybe something else can be done to distribute your
book in the rest of the world. It is needed because accusations
are still being written. Just today, I was told by Rosa Elena
[Rosa Elena Simeon, president of Cuban Academy of Sciences] that
you had conducted an excellent conference defending the
authorship....[pauses] You said it would be controversial when I
said: Use some of those arguments today. Lopez pointed out: We
have foreign visitors with us and I do not want to touch on a
controversial subject. This is probably as wise as Finlay's
discovery.
Another thing I cannot talk about is what the medical
developments in Cuba since the triumph the Revolution have
represented because Comrade Teja [Public Health Minister Julio
Teja] eloquently spoke of this. He gave us some figures that are
significant and which could be analyzed. He pointed out that the
infant mortality rate has reached 9.4 for every 1,000 live
births. This is something that we could not even imagine in the
current circumstances of the special period. We struggled to
maintain the level we had reached. We struggled to keep it from
increasing, not making the rate go below 10, which was one of
our goals under normal conditions.
You must keep in mind that all these programs were designed
during normal periods. The list of all these programs which Teja
spoke of, he detailed each one of them, is very long. I believe
there were more than 50 programs associated with medicine that
were developed and implemented in the last 10 or 12 years: from
pediatric cardiovascular surgery to prenatal genetics program,
many of these vaccination programs, the development of
specialties, intensive pediatric therapy, and intensive prenatal
care. Why is it called prenatal?
[Lopez] It is perinatal.
[Castro] Oh, perinatal. Because prenatal is before birth,
right? Then it is perinatal, which means the time around the
birth. This intensive care has saved many lives. These programs
as a whole have made the reduction of the infant mortality rate
possible. Just look at the results of a job so well done that
even under such difficult conditions they can continue advancing
and progressing.
The family doctor is also associated with these
achievements.
That is another one of these programs, of the approximately 50
programs or measures. The family doctor also is a complete
program. The development of specialities also is a complete
program. We can say that we have been applying many programs in
health care matters to be able to obtain these results.
However, when he [Teja] said: 51,000 doctors, I must confess
that I also was amazed, as if I had never heard the number of
doctors we have. It is something that is frequently mentioned. I
frequently talk about it, too, but time has betrayed me. I lost
track that in August another.....[pauses] How many graduated?
4,600. This totals 51,000 doctors. The health accomplishments
Teja spoke of have to be seen in relation to the presence of the
personnel and their abilities.
This could be better appreciated if we remember that at the
beginning of the Revolution there were 6,000 doctors, and that
many were unemployed, and that 3,000 left the country. We were
left with 3,000 doctors. Now we have almost 17 doctors for every
one we were left with. There are thousands in the medical
schools. We have medical schools in the provinces. This was
another program. Is it a program or a measure, that of having
medicine schools in every province? There are several in Havana.
This is why we have about 20 or 21 medical schools. Right now,
we are using these schools primarily to train nurses. We have
had to reduce the number of new students. However, about 2,500
new students register each year. We have been reducing the
number. At a certain point, twice that many were registering. So
far, we have not had an excess of doctors. The problem with
doctors is that no one can make them retire.
A division or army general, or whatever, can be retired but
not a doctor. Doctors never retire. This is good of them. Right?
You have not retired and that is good. [Castro addresses Lopez]
And do not even think about stopping your studies on Finlay,
because you would be relinquishing your most sacred duty.
All these efforts have been conducive to creating this
situation. When Teja spoke about hospitals and large hospital
complexes, he mentioned the Hermanos Ameijeiras Clinical
Surgical Hospital. Originally, the Hermanos Ameijeiras Hospital
was going to be a bank -- I believe a central bank. The facility
was completed at the triumph of the Revolution. Later, it
underwent a fire. Afterwards, it sat there for years waiting to
be rebuilt into a bank or perhaps waiting for money to become a
bank. The fact is that we changed the project and turned the
building, which already had several stories, into a hospital. Of
course, we had to change many things. I thought about it and
asked myself: Did we do this right? What should be built first,
a bank or a hospital?
The fact is that we built the hospital and have yet to build
the bank. Banks are, of course, needed. Is it not so Benavides
[not further identified]? Banks are needed because money is
needed for all these projects. What we have truly done is
to....[pauses] We have plenty of money, but in Cuban pesos. We
have very little hard currency. However, we have managed to get
along with the little we have to maintain these projects, like
the special period, for example.
I would say that the most extraordinary thing the health
minister mentioned is that we attained and have maintained these
results in these times. This is what is truly admirable. We
could even say having achieved this is miraculous.
I also cannot talk, although I am talking, about the
significance of this new plant being inaugurated today. I can
only say that I was facing a contradiction. I was told that
plant No. 3 is being inaugurated, that is the name of that plant
of the Finlay Institute. It has the capacity to produce 100
million doses of vaccine per year. I asked where is the
inauguration going to take place. They told me: at the
Convention Center. I asked myself how is this possible. I have
never seen anything like it. They told me: It is impossible to
inaugurate it there because of the gardens, what it would
entail, and the visitors we have, so that they could be
comfortable. I said: Fine, it is impossible inaugurating it
there. However: Is it possible to inaugurate it in a convention
hall? But it seems it is possible to do so. This is what we are
doing so far. What we need is a little bit of imagination. We
need to use our imagination and imagine the plant as we speak
about it, or imagining how the plant might look. Likewise, we
also wanted to imagine what the (Merie) [not further identified]
plants might look like. Their founder is here: [Name indistinct]
[applause]
When we discussed the idea of building this and other
plants,
we asked ourselves what might the (Merie) plants look like. We
saw pamphlets or publicity that the plants undoubtedly look very
modern. It makes a great impression. We had to consult the
literature and our experience because plant No. 3 is the
grandchild of plant No. 1. At plant No. 1 the practical problems
of the production of the vaccine were solved once the vaccine
was developed and tested. We still needed to produce it. The
ideas used in plant No. 1 were very useful when it came time to
design plant No. 3.
I believe it is fair to praise our scientists, a group from
the Finlay, [two indistinct names], and others, our designers,
our draftsmen, and engineers who were capable of giving shape to
the idea of plant No. 3. -- the production flow, the equipment.
When one visits the completed plant now, we see that it is a
truly complex project of great quality. It requires, above all,
great quality and has been built with great quality. Of course,
there we see the processes -- I am not reveling any secrets, the
culture and fermentation areas, the main areas, the purification
and the aseptic area -- as Conchita [Concepcion Campa, Politburo
member and director general of the Finlay Research Institute]
called it. I heard her use that word here. There also are the
finishing and packing areas, the most complex.
We can perfectly see how it was designed with great logic
and
rationality -- as far as I know. I am not an expert on this. I
am repeating what Diaz [not further identified] said, that the
plant was very good, very well designed. It seemed very rational
to me. I have great confidence in the plant's production
capabilities, the quality of its production on the basis that it
is the third one. As Conchita mentioned, this idea came about
not following the commercial criteria Maria de los Angeles
[Politburo member Maria de los Angeles Garcia] spoke of. She
frankly acknowledged that the plant also has significant
economic aspects.
Our concern, when work began to produce a vaccine against
meningococcal meningitis type b, was due to an epidemic we were
experiencing. It was frustrating to see more than 1,000 cases
every year and a high mortality rate, and great fear among
family members that their children might contract it. We not
only have to measure the direct damaged caused by an epidemic or
an illness on the people affected or their relatives, but also
the fear, the anxiety it provokes in millions of people. A
vaccine such as this one prevents another illness, agony, in
millions of people and helps them. This is the value of these
vaccines, as well as that of all vaccines developed, and the
ones being developed.
We have truly ambitious plans in this regard. I believe the
figures Conchita presented justify it: Millions of children are
still dying, while vaccines are available, from illnesses that
are predictable or preventable. She [Campa] used the word
preventable. We ought to consult a good writer to tell us what
word we should use. She [Campa] said there are 2.1 billion or 8
million illnesses for which there are no vaccines [as heard];
there might a treatment, of course, but no prevention. The
figure of 900 million children who become ill is impressive. I
believe that this gives an idea of the importance of the work in
the field of vaccines.
I remember, however, that a fairly well known writer, many
of you might have read or heard of him, perhaps not so much the
younger generations, [George] Bernard Shaw was a sworn enemy of
vaccines. I read him as a student but did not internalize his
prejudices on vaccines. He said that vaccines were a poison, a
toxin being injected into people, etc. I believe that,
objectively, that view is not sustainable. Vaccines have saved
literally millions and millions of people.
We should not forget that currently the human
population....[pauses] UNICEF presented me with a watch which
records the projected growth of the population of Cuba and the
world. I believe that yesterday it read: 5.541 billion people.
Can this vary? Well, it does. Every minute there is another mass
of people on earth. This piece of equipment is small; it is like
a watch. It is programed to show this information.
Without vaccines the immense drops in infant mortality would
not have been attained. Of course, this is not the result of the
vaccines alone. There are treatments, but vaccines have been
decisive because Third World countries in general do not have
many medical options. However, they have the option of vaccines.
The immense demographic growth we are experiencing, the
increment of almost 100 million people a year, is closely tied
to the development of vaccines.
Now: Are vaccines also going to be blamed for hunger in the
world? Conchita, one of these days you and the Finlay are going
to be partially blamed for solving the problem of how to
preserve children's lives but not the problem of how to feed
them. This is the great tragedy of our times. However, I do not
want to discuss this further because I already said that I had
nothing to add following everything you said. [chuckling]
I repeat: I had nothing to say following Maria de los
Angeles
address on historic aspects and strategies, and all those issues
that resulted in our health program. I believe that Maria de los
Angeles spoke in political terms. She explained it politically
and historically. This is not forbidden. Right? I believe
history has spoken here twice: spoken through the mouths of
Lopez Sanchez and Maria de los Angeles. He told us the history
of Finlay, and she gave us the history of medicine in the
Revolution. Teja spoke of the processes and Conchita of the
vaccine and the plant.
I repeat that everyone has been remembered: Finlay, the
doctors -- today is Doctors Day, all have been warmly
congratulated. I join these congratulations wholeheartedly.
Scientists were also congratulated, as well as the workers who
built this center. They inaugurate it....[pauses] Well, they do
not inaugurate it. The center is being inaugurated today.
Tomorrow they observe Construction Workers Day in the vicinity
of the plant, in a street parallel to the plant.
The efforts of many people have been required. We also
cannot
forget the draftsmen, engineers, and technical personnel, those
who worked in the acquisition of the equipment in order that it
was of the best quality, and they had to overcome many
obstacles. You must realize that we have to overcome things in
the midst of the blockade.
I believe that in this area we are progressing well. I
believe that we have been accumulating a great potential in
terms of vaccines. We are working on several vaccines.
We have not mentioned that we also are trying to make some
contribution in finding a vaccine for the Acquired Immune
Deficiency Syndrome [AIDS], one of the most terrifying plagues
being experienced. It is a growing threat, a threat that grows
day to day to the point that data on the situation in certain
parts of the world is mindboggling: The fact that there are
countries where 30 percent of the population is infected by the
Human Immune Deficiency Virus. Imagine a country with 30 percent
of the population infected! The importance of treatment as well
as prevention of this illness! All measures adopted so far have
yielded marginal results. Its spread has not been checked.
We adopted unique measures, feasible in Cuba because we
began
fighting AIDS when the number of cases was still very small. We
are perhaps the country in the world where the AIDS epidemic has
spread the least, the country in the world where it has spread
the least. We have acquired an important body of experience
which is being better understood daily, but which is not
possible to implement when the spread is massive.
Yes, Lopez Sanchez. We have had to use certain traditional
methods, certain forms of quarantines together with specialized
care -- not a total quarantine or anything like that, it is a
flexible quarrantine. This is a system we are still improving
but despite this, AIDS cases are growing in Cuba; despite this,
it grows. At least we have been able to keep it at reasonably
low levels. We also are working on an AIDS vaccine. We also are
working on vaccines against parasites. This is very important. I
believe this is one of the most important challenges for the
medical sciences.
We also are working against Hemophilous meningitis,
meningococcal meningitis caused by the Hemophilus bacteria. We
plan to combine the vaccine for meningococcal meningitis type B
and for meningococcal meningitis caused by Hemophilus into one
vaccine. [as heard] This is one of the options of the Finlay
Institute. In this field we are making progress.
We are making progress in many other fields of health
research, science, biotechnolgy, and the pharmaceutical
industry. We did not mention here another institute we just
finished: the Ozone Institute. It works on ozone research. It
has proven it can solve very important problems. The Molecular
Immunology Center is well into its construction for the
development and production of monoclonal antibodies. Perhaps, we
did not mention the concept that in this development science and
production go hand in hand. The factories are built next to the
research center or annexed to it. First we build the research
center and then the factory. This helps us to maintain constant
and systematic ties between research and development. This is an
idea we have tested and that we are implementing at the highest
possible number of research centers with very good results.
To these tasks we have dedicated efforts and resources. Like
medicine, they have not been left unattended in the special
period because in addition to the benefits in human terms that
this represents for our health and perhaps the rest of the
world, it carries the promise of economic rewards for Cuba which
we truly need. This field will probably become in the future one
of the most important economic fields of Cuba.
What else can I say. Conchita thanked all of you. I thank
our
guests, particularly our foreign guest and also Cuban guests,
because some may have had to get here on bicycles or overcame
great transportation difficulties. I want to express our
admiration for what (Merie) did. We hope to become partners and
not competitors. His presence at the inauguration of this plant
reflects his great love for medicine and vaccines. He was very
busy in his country and Europe and yet he set aside a day to
travel to this side of the Atlantic, arrived here at noon and
returns tomorrow at 0600. We have to truly thank and admire
gestures such as this. We have to thank and admire the gesture
of everyone who traveled significant distances. I also want to
mention the Argentine guests because they are as distant in
terms of flight hours as the French. Mexicans are a little bit
closer but this does not mean we appreciate their presence less.
[pause] They are also closer in our hearts. This does not mean
the others are not close to our hearts because I would become
very unpopular and spoil Maria de los Angeles' entire effort.
All are close to our hearts, although we have to stress that
Mexicans are historically very close.
Without further ado, I want to thank you for having shared
Medicine Day with us, the success of our researchers, the feat
of our builders, and to tell you that we will always be willing
to work and cooperate with you. We will always think of you. We
will always keep the memory of this day and meeting. Thank you
very much. [applause]